|
Home | Week1 | Week2 | Week3 | Week4 | Week5 | Week6 | Week7 | Week8 | Week9 | Week10 |
Week 6: Evaluating Educational Software or Internet Sites
The process of selecting software for use in schools is a risky one. Software can be a large investment in terms of time and money. Not only are site licenses expensive, (a site license means everyone in the school can use that software,) certain software can be an ongoing headache, especially if it is networked, and upgrades in software programs can trigger needs for upgrades in hardware. For example, the 8C school district upgraded its Novell networking client, resulting in dozens of teachers being unable to print from their Word Perfect version 6.1. They were all forced to upgrade to WordPerfect version 9.
A looming problem is the disappearance of DOS programs because of lack of support in future Windows operating systems, including Windows 2000. Many schools still use the DOS program for the Accelerated Reader, as well as other DOS programs for grading and learning styles inventories. These are easy-to-use programs that fit on one disk, yet soon they will be orphans in the sea of operating systems. Choosing software programs for classroom use creates problems of its own--how can we know which programs are best suited to our needs? Because of the expense of multimedia CDs, we need to be able to test them out first. This can take time. Many programs offer demos that can be downloaded off the internet from the manufacturer's web site. Some software can be downloaded for free, either freeware or shareware. Freeware can be used freely, although shareware is meant to be registered after a certain amount of time. There is still a lot of DOS software available for download. A good solution is to take a look at software reviews written by educators and posted on Internet websites.
One advantage for educators and students is that software companies usually allow substantial discounts for academic use. This is beneficial for software companies, since if students are familiar with their products in school, they will more likely use them later on in life. Academic discounts usually require proof of employment or student status, usually a copy of a pay stub or a student ID. The Journey Ed. company (listed below) offers big discounts and requires a copy of a student activity card. The 8C School District has an agreement with the Oregon Educational Technology Consortium, which lists software at reduced prices. When software is purchased for a teacher's computer at school, according to the 80/20 rule, teachers can then install the software at home for their personal use. Often manufacturers will send free software and upgrades to teachers who request it directly from the company.
Focus Questions:
1. What would you look for in an ideal educational software for your own classroom use?
2. Is there any software available currently that would fill your requirements?Software Review and Download links
Superkids Educational Software Review http://www.superkids.com/
Assignments:
In-depth Website or Software Review
Be working on your in-depth, 2- page review of a website or software program, using the following criteria:
- Accessibility--Is this easy on the eyes, or hard to read? Are the icons too small to click on? Are the colors too violent or are animations too distracting?
- Navigation--is it easy to get around in this site? Are there links to all parts of the site from all the pages? How many clicks away is the last page?
- Multimedia components--Does the site require plug-ins that not everyone may have, like Shockwave? Is the download time too much because of sound files or large images or video?
- Content--Is there enough good information to help me in my teaching, or is it too hard to find what I need? Does the visual presentation overshadow what is really there?
- Is this site too advanced or too limited for your classroom? Are teacher sites geared to be helpful or are they too commercial or too misleading?
Send the evaluation to me as an attachment. Also make an attempt to attach it to the Blackboard.com site so we can all see it!Graduate Assignment
For your three lesson plans, make copies for all the members of the class. (Don't worry about the 2-page reflection paper mentioned in the syllabus.) Instead of teaching the class, please make a presentation telling what would happen in the classroom. We will be giving these the 7th and 10th weeks, which will be our final class meetings. (classes 6, 8 and 9 will be online.)
The presentations should include the following components:
- the lesson objectives,
- materials needed,
- strategies for teaching, for example, an attention-getter; how the material will be presented (demonstration by the teacher, software program, reading a textbook, working in small groups, listening to a tape, etc.),
- student learning activities (students accessing web sites or using educational software, students using an email program, printing photos, etc,)
- evaluation -- How will you assess how they learned?
Educational Media and TechnologyEOU Malheur County Center (541) 889-7468 or (541) 889-6222
